I adore art projects that use household materials in new ways. This paper towel painting lesson does just that. A little marker and a few watercolors and you won’t even recognize that paper towel!
What do you need…
Paper towels, any variety will work. It’s fun to use the patterns on the paper towels as inspiration for new designs. So a variety of paper towels with different designs would be awesome. Black permanent markers and watercolors are also needed. We used dry cake watercolors from Crayola. If you have liquid watercolors those would work too. The colors that liquid watercolors produce are fantastically bright and hard to beat!
Getting started…
The fun of working on paper towels is the absorption factor. This also means that you need a protected surface to work on. Everything you do will bleed through to the table underneath!
Grab your paper towel or two or three and your black Sharpie. Encourage kids to use the patterning on the paper towel as a jumping off point for their own unique design. Even if every kids has a similar paper towel you can bet their designs will all be different. Think lines, dots, dashes, and adding in their own patterns.
Now for the color…
Because the painting is being done on a absorptive surface the paint will react a little different than normal! The paint will move and spread. Add more water and the color will be less vibrant but it will spread even farther.
Some kids love this and will “ohhh and ahhh” watching the paint spread from one area to the next. The inability to exactly control the medium may drive some kids bonkers. That’s okay too. It’s a good exercise in letting go and seeing where the art process goes.
Finding beauty in the ordinary….
After a little marker and paint these paper towel painting examples bear little to no resemblance to a cleaning rag. How cool right? Art can be made of anything. Use what you have around you, use the time you have and make something every day!
If you enjoyed this paper towel painting project I hope you will share it on your favorite social media channel.
Every single share helps me to bring you more fun projects and free printables!
